Hold me while I show you my Lupin feels

[birdsofshore]

I feel like I'm spamming everyone this week, but I need to discuss my overwhelming feels for Remus Lupin. I've been reading Prisoner of Azkaban with my eldest son for a while now (we only get 10 or 15 mins most nights without his brothers, but I love sharing it with him) and I've enjoyed it an awful lot more than I did on the times I've read it alone. I remember a discussion recently on hp_canon_love about what was your favourite book, and LOADS of people picked POA. I was really surprised, as I actively disliked a lot of things about it.

For instance: Dementors *huge shudder*. They are just WAY TOO SCARY after what's at heart been quite a jolly children's series up til then. They really jarred with me the first time I read POA (read: scared the wiggins out of me), and on rereads I still find them too sinister, depressing and basically about the worst thing I can imagine. And to have 13-year-old Harry having to listen to the sounds of his mother dying every time they come close - UGH. 13 is just nothing; he's so young. I find it all very upsetting.

However, my son J loves it all, doesn't give a shit about the Dementors, and thinks Sirius Black is the best thing since sliced bread (although you'll be pleased to hear Lucius Malfoy is still his favourite :DD). That's my other problem with POA - I don't care that much about Sirius - at least not as much as I am meant to, I don't think. BUT. LUPIN, OMG. He's INCREDIBLE.

I've always liked Lupin, I mean, obviously, he's a very likeable character, but I think I underestimated him until now. He is just SO DECENT. This is a quality that's maybe not that sexy until you are in your 40s. I know I've always been more about the bad boys. But now, suddenly, I've got 3 kids who I need plenty of help supporting, and I'm not very attractive or fertile any more, and my sexual organs are going "HELLOOOOO NICE DECENT MEN, you look good to me. You don't seem like you'll run off just because I've got a saggy arse and the baby's keeping us awake every night.". Suddenly decent men are really what it's all about. (although Lupin DOES run off, silly git, but we'll pass over that for now. At least he comes back).

Lupin is such a fabulous teacher, and he's so saucily laidback and in control of everything. I mean, he takes on the Boggart in DADA, because he thinks Harry's Boggart is going to be Lord Voldemort and freak everyone out. The Boggart, of course, turns into the moon in front of the whole class, thereby giving the biggest clue yet that Lupin's a werewolf, and presumably making him feel quite frightened, and yet he just says 'Riddikulus' "almost lazily." ALMOST LAZILY. Yowzers. Basically I want to throw my knickers at him.

Today, my son and I just got to the Shrieking Shack, and it's so exciting and Lupin is a complete and utter BAMF. But all wrapped up in a cardigan-wearing, nice-decent-bloke package. First of all, he gets it virtually straight away when Sirius says Pettigrew has been hiding as Scabbers. He thought he was coming to save Harry and co. from Black, the evil murderer, but when he sees Pettigrew on the map and finds out he's been a rat for twelve years, he takes about three seconds and then goes "ah, so.... Sirius, you changed places as Secret Keeper and didn't tell me? Pettigrew killed James and Lily and faked his own death? You're completely innocent and you've come to rescue Harry from Pettigrew? Right then, I'll just work that all out without any explanation, and completely take it in my stride, without breaking a sweat."

THEN, when everyone is screaming and threatening to kill each other and getting completely over-excited, Lupin is doing things like saying "Certainly, Hermione," courteously and "Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," casually. I love that JKR abuses adverbs almost as much as me, and what delightful adverbs they are. Everyone else is frothing and capslocking like mad, and Lupin is standing there ROLLING UP HIS SLEEVES. This is what awesomeness looks like, and my underwear just flew off all by itself.

So, is Lupin this incredible in all the other books? How did I miss this?

Comments

[drarryisgreen]

Prisoner of Azkaban was definitely my favourite book when I read it and it still is. It was also the most disappointing movie. Lupin is amazing!

[birdsofshore]

I was fascinated to find out it was so many people's favourite. It's Mr Birds' favourite, too, but I just thought he was weird :D

[0idontknow0]

Remus is awesome and super sweet and kind and level headed. I imagine the Marauders and he is always reigning them in and keeping them from getting into excess trouble, because Sirius and James were probably about as controllable as Harry and Ron.

Absolutely hated that he died.

[birdsofshore]

He's just so tolerant and ethical and a handsdown nice person. Sirius crashes around being all flashy and charismatic and basically your complete pain in the arse ;-), and Lupin is just standing there leaning against a wall or something. I adore him.

[knowmefirst.livejournal.com]

I think Remus is the type of character that many don't see. However, in all of the characters of Harry Potter, his the one that no matter whom you put him with in the love department he'll be perfect :D

Or maybe is just me :P

[birdsofshore]

Yes! I overlooked him. I haven't really read much (any?) Lupin shippy fic. Any recs?

[melusinahp.livejournal.com]

He's not just amazingly decent, but also amazingly down to earth given the kind of life he leads. He's been a werewolf since he was a kid. Been treated like dirt since he was a kid. And he made such different choices, both internally and externally, than Fenrir. I love Remus.

PoA was definitely one of my favourites of the films and also the one that got me into Harry Potter in the first place.

[birdsofshore]

Oh, that's interesting! I love to hear what got people into HP.

I wondered if Lupin's tolerance was a result of being treated badly / with suspicion all his life.

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

LMAO over this post. You are awesome sauce.

PoA has always and will always be my favorite book, and Lupin has a lot to do with that. (Though Sirius is probably the main reason, followed closely by Hermione bitch-slapping Draco and Oliver Wood sobbing like a baby when they win the Quidditch Cup.)

But yes. Lupin. He's very zen. Or he was right up until Dumbledore was killed, and then I'm not sure what happened to him. Suddenly this decent person was like "OMG SNAPE IS EVIL, HUNT THE MOFO DOWN." And I was like, huh? And then there was the really strange and unsettling confrontation in Grimmauld Place in book 7 (he attacked Harry!), and basically I lost a lot of respect for his character and couldn't figure out what JKR was doing with him, unless he was really that torn up about Sirius's death. Which I consider likely because, even though I'm not a Puppyshipper, dude. That ship has to be canon. It's just gotta be. I consider that scene in the shack Exhibit A.

WOO what a ramble. Anyway. Yes. PoA Lupin is one of my favorite things in the world.

[birdsofshore]

Another POA lover! I have enjoyed it so much more this time round. The pace of the climax and all the reveals of the last few chapters are quite breathtaking. I realised we were getting near the end and I kept thinking, "but, but, there's the Shrieking Shack to go yet, and Buckbeak and the Time-Turner, and there's only about 50 pages to go..."

I can't wait to check out Remus in the later books as well.

[omi-ohmy.livejournal.com]

I shouldn't really be here, as I should be writing smut. They haven't even got their cocks out yet, and here I am getting distracted. Anyway, yes yes yes, Lupin is wonderful. I think he makes the best father figure for Harry is many ways - he has been battered down by life, but is still able to keep going. I like his weary shabbiness, and how underneath it beats the heart of a man good and true.

When I did that 'which HP character would you marry' test thing, it came back as Remus Lupin. :D

Okay, I wasn't here. Back to the smut.

ps You are wonderful. I love your ongoing HP-love. :)

[evilgiraff.livejournal.com]

YES. THIS. He is a lovely person :-) The others are all too high maintenance. Except possibly Arthur Weasley.

And hurrah for cocks! Remember: meander :D

[birdsofshore]

You should always be here!

And we should all marry Lupin!

I am particularly HP-focused at the moment. Displacement for all the other things I should be doing, probably *blush*

[evilgiraff.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Remus is gorgeous and lovely, definitely.

Prisoner of Azkaban has always been my favourite book, though I should probably reread the series soon. I think it was the steadily-growing background darkness (as well as engaging characters) that really hooked me in to the series in the first place. I was about sixteen or so when I read the first three for the first time (my grandad gave them to me and said if I liked them he'd buy me the rest of the series, which he duly did as each one came out), and the other books I was reading at the time included things like A Clockwork Orange and Nineteen Eighty-Four, so Potter barely registered as mild peril, to be honest. It was Goblet of Fire and Cedric's death that made me think JKR might have a bit of steel to her - killing off an innocent (though not a well-loved character) was a bit more meaty.

Anyway, so, yes, Sirius has always been my Potter fantasy guy, and PoA is his book - cool! But I agree, Remus is completely wonderful and I like him very much. I think I do go for the nice guy outside of fantasies - my husband is FAR more Remus than Sirius. Although he doesn't wear cardigans. Yet.

[birdsofshore]

I love a man in a cardigan. I bought Mr Birds a groovy kind of man-cardigan a few years ago, but I liked it so much I kept stealing it. I think it's in my wardrobe now :D

[ashindk.livejournal.com]

I've always prefered Remus over Sirius. The way he handles the Dementors and the confrontation with Pettigrew is just so amazingly cool and level headed.
The only thing that really scares him enough to get him to make some less than stellar decisions is in DH when he's afraid that he'll be a liability to his wife and baby. And that alone is enough to make me swoon.

[birdsofshore]

YES YES the astoundingly erotic decency of him! Let's all swoon for Lupin.

[vix-spes.livejournal.com]

Can I just say how much your post made my day?! Snape has been my favourite from the very beginning but Prisoner of Azkaban is probably my favourite book and a big part of that is because of Remus Lupin who then tied as my favourite. I adore Remus/Sirius (it was my very first OTP) because I love the idea of them as Marauders and Remus having to constantly reign Sirius in but then I equally love post-Azkaban fic for those two. I also quite like Remus/Snape which can be quite fun.

Also, this:

ROLLING UP HIS SLEEVES. This is what awesomeness looks like, and my underwear just flew off all by itself.
I'm not ashamed to admit that men who are quietly competent and all unassuming, generally decent blokes that then turn out to be BAMFs have a tendency to make my knickers fly off (Agent Coulson from the Avengers is another one like Lupin)

[birdsofshore]

I am a sucker for men rolling up their sleeves at the best of times. But Lupin quietly rolling up his sleeves (to prepare to kill Pettigrew, no less) at a time when everyone else is shouting and getting all confused is just MMMMF.

[icmezzo.livejournal.com]

Hmm. A pair of lovely underwear just landed next to me. I think they might be yours?

I'm impressed, I think. Self-propelled Transatlantic underwear crossings are so rare. Last time I think it happened was when I first read "As the Hand the Glove" and my fav pair ended up somewhere in Slovakia. You must *really* like Lupin's forearms. (Or was it the adverbs that did it?) Regardless, thank goodness JKR didn't go into a description of Remus' trousers at that moment or who knows where your pants would have landed? I'm guessing atop one of those Easter Island head statues, which, incidentally, I've always wanted to visit. I should've tried to hitch a ride...

I swear I'm not drunk.

[birdsofshore]

Hee, it was the forearms AND the adverbs. Thank the lord I was wearing a good pair.

I didn't think for a minute you were drunk. I'm pretty sure you've been HIGH for about 3 days, ever since you wrote those limericks :DD

[gamma-x-orionis.livejournal.com]

I'm another "PoA-is-my-favourite" person :D I won't go into all my reasons at the moment, but I think I first read it when I was of such an age (read: rather young) that I didn't quite grasp the full horror of the Dementors and Harry hearing his mother's death. Besides that, I remember being really scared by the Basilisk, so perhaps by the time I got to the third book, I was no longer expecting it to be lighthearted. Plus, I love dark, scary things, of course >.> ^_^

I agree with you about Lupin being an amazingly decent person! While I wouldn't exactly call him my favourite character, he's the character I'd most like to know people like in real life. And you're right about what a badass he was in Prisoner of Azkaban - I don't remember him being quite so cool in later books, but he always kept his head more than the rest of the characters, and it might just be that he doesn't have as much 'screentime' in the later books...

(I don't have a Lupin icon. Curses!)

[birdsofshore]

The basilisk is scary if you are young! I found the change from jolly to dark was too sudden and too severe. I do like the more adult tone in the later books, but it bothered me in POA, I think partly because Harry's still so clearly a child.

Yes yes to knowing Lupin in real life! I adore lots of other characters, but I wouldn't want to actually spend time with them!

[khalulu]

Yeah, he is a very decent guy and quietly helpful teacher. I have always wondered about the Sirius-in-Azkaban part, though - you would think that Remus would have disbelieved that Sirius had done it back at the time, and gone "somethings not right, Sirius would never have done a thing like that to James and Lily". Nor does it make sense to me that SIrius would have urged them to make Peter the secret keeper.It just seemed like a plot device that wasn't really motivated by the characters/

[birdsofshore]

Yes, and Sirius thought that Remus was a spy, which is why he didn't tell him about Peter being the Potter's Secret Keeper. The moments when they are reconciled so easily and totally, speak of a deep trust and friendship between them, but their willingness to believe the worst about each other contradicts this. There's obviously some massive backstory that explains it all :D I bet there's loads of R/S stories about it.

[daemoncas5.livejournal.com]

POA WAS THE ONE WHO POPPED MY HARRYPOTTER-CHERRY AT 14 JUST SAYING !

i'm prolly someone who is more attracted to badboy types, but Remus Lupin? He rocks my socks. I mean, all those scars, hellooo i had a weakness for scars [and maybe some indecent kinks too <_<] And my imagining him from the book and him from the movie pretty much the same. He was so very laid back and loyal and you get the ROLLIN UP HIS SLEEVES and the calm when life is all shit and then in DH book he got a bit violent with Harry and just...yes maybe he can got wild too {especially wth the wolf factor} *speechless of his awesome* it's sad tough that i never really read some really serious remus-centric fic. you have some? :DDDDD

[birdsofshore]

*speechless of his awesome* <------ YES YES

My post would have probably been a lot clearer if I had just posted that.

I haven't got any remus-centric fic. We need some. I don't know where to get any that doesn't want to chew my heart up and spit it on the floor, though. Can we just pretend Remus didn't die?

[dustmouth.livejournal.com]

So nice to hear dear Mr Lupin getting a bit of love for a change :D
I'm with you, he completely owns the third book, I always felt slightly resentful about how he was rather pushed to the sidelines once Sirius entered the picture. If anything he supported Harry a lot more than Sirius did, and it annoys me that they aren't viewed on equal terms. But that's just me being whingy hah-

[lokifan]

He is such a nice guy :) And also kind of fascinating. Like, you mention the BAMF-ness of his adverbs, which is totally true. But "lazily" in JKR's idiom usually indicates badness (see: Malfoys) and his particular calm and courtesy when bad things are happening could even be kind of sinister. IDK, I love that he works so well as a red herring of Evil DADA Teacher on first reading while being totally lovely and BAMFy.

POA's my favourite :D I didn't find the Dementors super-scary on first reading (I was 13 or so myself) and now I find them scary but also enjoy them: I like it when depression is acknowledged as a real monster, even through metaphor.

[birdsofshore]

"the BAMF-ness of his adverbs" hee hee!

Yes his calm could be sinister, I hadn't thought of that. The whole scene in the Shrieking Shack does build tension with he and Sirius contrasting ragey threat and calm but almost menacing control.

[dustmouth.livejournal.com]

For some reason lj isn't letting me see your reply, but I can see it on my gmail so I'll just flail about it here instead :D
It's looking so amazingly gorgeous! Your stitches are so nice! I love the texture in Sirius'hair and I'm dead impressed with the way you managed to keep Remus' curls look so curved. And there's such a sense of movement to Sirius with the shading on his coat and I just!
I love it so much, and I love you so much for doing it- Aaaah! <3

[birdsofshore]

Aw, you are too sweet. I feel embarrassed, like I keep waving it at you so you have to say nice things, LOL. I just thought if I keep saying "I am on the case, honest," you'll think 'Yeah, right.' :-/

I was not at all sure about Sirius' hair, but I'll see what it looks like at the end. I can always redo parts. I am nervous about the next bit as I need to start the lighter blue and I don't know what it='s going to look like, but I'll give it a go, anyway!

okay this is 6 months late and you probably wont see it but I Have to say it...

[nevrafire.livejournal.com]

I find it very funny that you posted a post about PoA and Lupin on june 4, which is the day the PoA movie was released in theater in 2004-- june 4,2004

Re: okay this is 6 months late and you probably wont see it but I Have to say it...

[birdsofshore]

That's a co-incidence! But how on earth did you happen to remember the date?